A Raven's Blossom
by D. A. Nico
Summary: One-shots. [Sasuke x Sakura] Rated M only for possible future stories.
1. Fight or Flight

Fight or Flight

D. A. Nico

As shinobi, they were trained to be hyperaware of their surroundings no matter what the situation. Eyes open and ears alert was a regular mantra in their field of work. If at any moment you let your guard down it could mean your life, or even worse, the life of someone you love or care for. So in turn those senses became attuned to doing this job even when not on a mission. It was at this point however that Haruno Sakura wished she was just a normal civilian.

She was sitting stalk still in an uncomfortable wooden chair that creaked awkwardly every time she shifted even an inch to the left or right. She'd been called to the court to honor a prior agreement years ago that stated she would testify against her former teammate should the situation ever arise. It had been a number of years since the Uchiha's ultimate defection from Konoha and no one had seen anything of the man since. Rumors held true that he had defeated his older kin, but that was the last whispered murmurs of anything about the dark haired man in quite a long time.

A pen clattering against one of the desks behind her made Sakura stiffen immediately as her emerald eyes shifted to the right in an attempt to see who had made such a noise amidst all the throat clearing, coughing and quiet murmuring as the clan elders rather loudly made their opinions about this situation already known. She could slowly feel her brow line begin to crinkle as she looked back and down at the balled up hands in her lap.

Nearly a month ago, a twenty-one year old Uchiha Sasuke had strolled straight through the front gates of the village, a picture of perfect health and sanity and caused quite an outbreak of initial panic within the ANBU. Tsunade had recollected to a frazzled Naruto and stressed Sakura that he was being held in the highest security deep within the interrogation units basements. Upon her blonde friends outburst the Hokage had to reiterate and promise that he was not being harmed in any kind of manner and that until his judgment day they wouldn't take anymore actions on the man.

The door to her left opened and closed quickly as two sets of feet shuffled across the floor. The entire room grew ominously quiet as everyone in attendance sat up a little straighter in preparation for the entire reason they were here. Sakura turned her eyes up to catch a familiar pair of eyes looking worriedly back at her.

She'd spent the entire evening at Naruto's apartment blabbering on about how she wasn't sure what stance she should take on their friend. For years now in front of the general public and pretty much everyone they knew Sakura kept an aloof and emotionless front, just as a shinobi should. However behind the closed doors of Naruto's place she dispelled all of her sins on a couch covered in a throw Hinata had made and eating noodles expertly made by the Yellow Flash's son himself. Naruto was lucky enough to not have to partake in the trial. As future Hokage and emotional wreck, he was deemed essentially useless to council. Unlike Sakura, Naruto hadn't been quiet and reluctant in all his accounts of Sasuke. Most of Konoha understood that Naruto's heart still beat for the good in Sasuke and that the only thing he'd willingly allow himself to say on the front podium was that he believed Sasuke should be washed free of his record.

The fact that he was in this room at all was a simple formality and politeness of escorting the still empowered Hokage, Tsunade. With a small twitch of his lips Naruto gave her the courage she needed not to flee the room right there on the spot. Once Tsunade was in place, Naruto turned to eye the council and elders before he turned unwillingly on his own heel and exited the room without another noise. Tsunade must have threatened him direly for him to be that obedient. Sakura knew better, he wouldn't go far.

Releasing the breath she had been holding Sakura turned back to her teacher as the woman straightened papers and gained her bearing. The powerful leader cleared her throat, raised her honey eyes to the council members in front of her and slowly began to speak.

"Good morning to everyone in this room. It is no secret why we are all here today and I won't fill this time with unnecessary words. Let the trial for Uchiha Sasuke commence." She spoke quickly, almost uncomfortably.

The door on the opposite side of the room flew open rather harshly as a hooded man was ushered into the room by two of the interrogation units finest, Mitarashi Anko and Morino Ibiki. They remained stoney silent as they placed their prisoner on a platform beside Tsunade but a little lower in height. Sakura noted immediately the shackles holding his feet and hands together, likely infused with some of the strongest seals.

Tsunade glanced over at the man before nodding to Ibiki who returned the gesture and reached up to strip the hood from its place. Sakura's eyes widened a smidgen as she took in her first view of Sasuke since she'd last seen him years ago. His facial features had all matured, but he still looked as attractive as the boy Sakura's younger self had fallen for years ago. His dark eyes, sans Sharingan stared almost disgustedly down his aristocratic nose towards the counsel members he could see in front of him. Her keen eyes picked up the tick in his angled jaw lines as he ground his back teeth together and likely bit his tongue.

The bubble of silence in the room that was growing more and more stifling for Sakura popped when a man she was unfamiliar with spoke up from deep in the back, "Mr. Uchiha, is there anything that you have to say for yourself before your questioning begins and witnesses step forward?"

Every eye was on the prodigy as he turned his own very slowly to the man, kept his gaze for only a second or two before staring blankly straight ahead again.

"Very well," the man grumbled irritably, "Let us then call Haruno Sakura to the stand immediately."

Sakura felt her heart drop straight into the deepest pits of her stomach as she froze up immediately. Glancing nervously at the blurred faces around her she faced the middle of the room and sucked in a deep breath when she saw Sasuke's obsidian eyes burning holes straight into her soul. She could see it, he was assessing her, judging her, figuring out exactly how she had changed since they'd last seen each other.

"Sakura..."

It was with great effort she managed to tear her gaze away from his handsome face to look upon Tsunade who was staring at her expectantly. Silently urging her to obey.

It was a full five seconds before Sakura started to move, five of the longest seconds of her life. She stood in stilted motions from the chair and made her way towards her teacher and took the steps up to the podium where she traded places with the busty blonde. Tsunade gently set a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave her a light squeeze before stepping down and making her way over to an empty chair.

Sakura could feel his stare even on her now. Guilt immediately started to pull at her being, as she stared at her clasped hands and the wood beneath them. All she could think about was that it would be really nice if the floor opened up and swallowed her right now.

"Miss Haruno, please state your reason for being here."

Sakura frowned, such a stupid question. It was just a formality of course. A stupid one.

"I am a former teammate to Uchiha Sasuke, sir."

"Excellent, so it is safe to say that you may have been one of the people he was closest too?"

Sakura nodded and answered with a small affirmative.

"And as his former teammate would you say that Uchiha Sasuke was mentally sound in the time that he was in Konoha as a shinobi?"

Sakura frowned at the question, "Of course, he completed every mission successfully and was making the steps needed to complete of his testing and training."

"Would you consider this man a traitor to this village?"

The question came from an entirely different person and Sakura swiveled her head quickly to see Hyuga Hiashi glaring obviously at her.

"No... I-"

Sakura paused and she could hear the unhappy mumbles from the people around her. She had sworn to honesty before she'd even entered the room. Before seeing Sasuke she'd believed that this would be a simple and quick interrogation; she could answer questions about Sasuke, no problem.

She was so entirely wrong, old connections apparently died hard.

"I believe he was doing the things he needed to do."

"That's not the question Miss Haruno," was his angry reply.

Sakura glared back, "I do not have the type of authority to make that decision. According to our bingo books, yes, Sasuke is a traitor."

Hiashi opened his mouth to retort when Tsunade stepped in, "Let us move onto the next question."

With her word being law the Hyuga quieted down.

"Sakura, can you please tell us about your last encounter with Sasuke?"

Sakura stared at the ever contemplating face of Nara Shikaku.

"My team and I were sent on a mission to gather intelligence on the Akatsuki, we'd heard whispers about them, or at least one of their members being in the Land of Waves. In the middle of the mission we ran into Sasuke and his team members..."

"And what happened?"

Sakura bit her lip and for the first time since she took the podium glanced over towards the dark haired man. Sasuke at some point had apparently turned away from her and had found something on the ground far more interesting to look at. She could feel her heart racing harder and harder as the last couple words bubbled up from her stomach and she sighed gently, "He tried to kill me."

The absolute silence that reigned through the room pushed Sakura even further towards the edge of losing control of the calm facade she was putting on.

"Please step down Sakura, I think you're done here."

Sakura graciously nodded to her mentor and stepped away from the spotlight and placed herself back in the chair she originated from. A small sense clicked in the back of her head, the feeling of eyes on her being. She glanced up to meet Sasuke's gaze again and was taken aback when she saw the small smirk that curled just barely at the corner of his lips. Tilting her head curiously as she willed herself to be able to read minds, she watched as he turned his gaze towards his left looking what seemed to be through the room walls.

Sakura followed his line of sight but was only greeted with a couple unfamiliar faces of the clan heads. Shaking her head she glanced back, was Sasuke attempting to tell her something?

"Sakura?"

The gentle and extremely quiet whisper came from Tsunade's assistant and her dear friend.

"Shizune... what's wrong?"

"We need you to come to hospital right now, Tsunade already confirmed you're usefulness is done here."

Sakura stuttered as she went to stand up. Did she really want to abandon the rest of the trial? A small string of loyalty tugged at her heart. Shouldn't she stay here and fight for Sasuke? She needed to stay and make sure that these people didn't attempt to rip him apart in the next part of his hearing. She was pretty sure they all wanted to see him get life in a shinobi prison or even be put to death.

"Sakura, now," Shizune urged.

The young woman sighed and followed quietly and quickly out the door. The air through the threshold took on an entirely different feeling. She felt like she could breath now, she wasn't being suffocated by the amount of hostility and tenseness in one little room.

* * *

"Are you done yet?"

"Just finished with the last one, calm the fuck down."

"What did you just say to me?!"

"Shut up."

A loud clapping noise rang out across the clearing as the bird's the immediate area scattered at the sudden disturbance. A loud huffing noise exerted from the red haired woman as she stood towering over one man. Her hand was balled into a fist as he lay sprawled out a couple feet away.

"Listen here Suigetsu, Sasuke is trusting us to do this perfectly and he put me in charge so you better obey me, or else!" She snarled.

The young man rolled around in the grass for a second and then sat up, the tell tale bruising in his cheek bone already darkening. He sent her a scathing look, "If it wasn't for me right now none of this would be getting done, so chill out. Everything is ready five minutes ahead of schedule, all we have to do is wait. So get your panties out of your ass and chill out."

Karin gritted her teeth and curled her other hand into a fist as she took a threatening step towards him when a thought rushed across her mind. It would do her no good to clobber Suigetsu into oblivion, she needed him conscious, she needed him to help finish this mission so she could get her Sasuke back. It had been ages since she'd last seen his beautiful face and she'd been hiding out and waiting rather impatiently for this day.

A rustling in the trees to her left signaled the return of their third member. A big burly man who seemed calm in his demeanor at the current moment. He wandered silently over to the group and sat beside the two of them a troubled expression on his face.

Karin sighed and took a step towards him, "Now Jugo, remember when this begins you need to leave. We will meet you at the edge of this forest of course. Are you alright?"

Jugo nodded, "I just don't want anyone to get hurt and I be useless."

Suigetsu sat up straight at that point and patted the bigger man on the back, "Hey, you won't be useless. We can't control you if you get out of hand and Sasuke is going to be busy."

Karin nodded in agreement, "It'll be best for our safety and Sasuke's if you aren't in the middle of it."

Jugo looked down at his hands and flexed them open and closed a couple times before finally nodding in finality. A delicate butterfly fluttered around the man before drifting away with the breeze. He followed it with his eyes until it was out of view before standing up, "Good luck."

Karin smiled politely as she watched him take off into the trees. Pressing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose she sneered towards Suigetsu, all niceness dismissed from her features, "Let's get this over with."

Suigetsu nodded and listened as Karin counted down from three, at which point he began a couple seals to begin his jutsu. When he was finished he listened carefully and in the distance in the direction of the village heard explosions begin, after ten consecutive booms all went quiet.

Karin smirked, "Well at least you did that correctly..."

"Shut up."

* * *

Sasuke didn't even flinch when the explosions began. The entire room rattled and dust from some of the light fixtures above them came loose and fluttered down to the floor. The entire room in front of him began to panic almost immediately scurrying to flee the doorway or simply phasing out of the area. Fools.

As expected his two watch dogs were at his side in an instant. Ibiki latched onto his arm rather harshly and twisted him around to look him in his scarred face, "Uchiha, what are you up too?" He snarled underneath his breath.

Sasuke ignored him flat out and glanced over his shoulder as Tsunade attempted to quiet the stampeding members that were still in the room. Numerous still active shinobi had already fled the room in an attempt to collect information on what was happening. At some point in time two ANBU had managed to get into the room and were attempting to escort Tsunade from the area. Likely to keep her safe; pathetic.

"Answer me you piece of scum!" Ibiki ordered, his face only inches from Sasuke's, to close for his liking.

Another beat later the other explosions began to rang out. Sasuke smirked to himself, the original plan had been five big disturbances but it looked like Suigetsu had opted for ten smaller ones, either way it would be more then enough for Sasuke.

"Ibiki, we need to lock him down and help the villagers!" Anko yelled back at them.

Sasuke watched the older man confirm her thoughts, the vice grip biting further into his arm, "You've damned yourself now Uchiha, this was your last chance."

"Release me, this is your last chance."

The proctor froze as if he weren't expecting Sasuke to even say one word, after all he knew he wasn't the most vocal person in the world. They were staring at each other, silently threatening one another and after another second satisfaction filled Sasuke's being as he watched Ibiki panic and glance away as quick as he could.

"Ank-!"

The man's warning shout was cut short as Sasuke ripped his arm from his grip. Ibiki had become distracted by his initial attempt to avoid the Sharingan that spun lazily to life in his eyes and that had been all Sasuke needed to get the upper hand.

Fast as the lightening he could procure Sasuke gripped his hands together in one giant fist and hammered them upwards, hard into Ibiki's jaw. A satisfying crunch let the Uchiha know that he'd definitely broken his jaw, maybe even a few chipped teeth. He didn't stutter to watch him fall to the ground but immediately jumped straight up avoiding Anko's leg as she attempted to kick his own out from beneath him.

"Fool, do not get in the way," Sasuke growled out. He could feel the binding on his wrists trying to suck the chakra from his system, attempting to do their duty and prevent him from using his potential. He snorted, such pathetic seals would never be able to hold someone of his caliber, they should have never underestimated him.

Blurring from view he appeared behind Anko, he knew he'd been fast enough because she was still dazed when he was sliding his hands in front of her face and pulling the chain of the cuffs tightly against her neck effectively suffocating her wind pipe.

"Where did she go?" He asked quietly.

Anko made a strange choking noise and he let up just barely as she rasped out a questioning noise.

"Sakura, where did that woman take her?"

The stubborn interrogator turned her head away and ignored him. He didn't even hesitate to pull the cuffs tighter against her throat. Taking his anger out at her disobedience a little further he drove his knee deep into her lower back and rode her body down to the ground as she belly flopped hard onto the podium. Another satisfying noise let him know he'd put enough force into his attack that she'd be having back pain for the next couple of weeks.

Releasing Anko before she fully suffocated he made a couple seals of his own before watching the metal cuffs literally melt away from his limbs. Such petty attempts at keeping him restrained, he should have escaped a long time ago, but he needed some vital information before he did so. It only took a couple of seconds for him to rule out exactly where his pink haired ex teammate should be. The hospital.

* * *

"Sakura! We are going to need you here at the hospital!"

The pink haired medic whipped around quickly, the yellow pack on her back stuffed to the brim. A precaution should her jutsu not be enough for the causalities that were undoubtedly strewn throughout the city.

"Shizune, there is more then enough medics here. The shinobi are going to need my help to stabilize the wounded!" She waved her hand dismissively when the other woman open her mouth to argue, "No time to fight about this. ANBU will most likely be escorting Tsunade here immediately. I'll be back as soon as I can!" And without a second thought she ran through the front doors of the hospital.

Her glimmering jade eyes glanced up at the sky, in ever direction smoke billowed from their specific explosions, satisfied that in the current vicinity she couldn't hear any agonizing cries for help, nor could she hear shinobi barking orders. She knew that peace would be short lived as people would begin to be transported to the hospital as fast as possible.

Turning to the west and picking a black cloud at random she jumped up quickly and took off across the roof tops. It didn't take her long to land in the alleyway where the smoke was coming from. Confusion wracked through her body immediately as a large pile of hay that looked like it had once been ablaze and recently put out stood in front of her. She took another step forward slowly and glanced around, "Hello? Is anyone hurt here?" She paused momentarily, "Are there any shinobi here?" She called a second later; and was only answered with even more silence.

It was in that moment that a terrible feeling overcame her, why would someone make such a big noise with such minimal damage? She gasped and glanced up to other smoke piles, it was a distraction... but for what?

"Naruto!" Her mind jumped to her blonde haired best friend. Why didn't she think about it immediately? He was the future Hokage, the kyubi still laid dormant in his being, he was likely alone having escaped his watch to most likely be near the trials... the trials in which Sasuke wasn't locked up anymore.

Panic and adrenaline rushed through her body as she sent an unbelievable amount of power to her legs and feet. Launching from the ground and leaving and imprint where she had just been she flew even faster across the rooftops heading towards the courthouse. Surely someone would still be in the area? In the far distance she saw said building, two unrecognizable shinobi were perched on top of it, their heads turned away from her and to their left. She opened her mouth to get their attention when suddenly a powerful force tackled her from atop the roofs.

The man grasped his arms around her and twisted their bodies so that he took the entirety of the fall against his own body, she heard him grunt uncomfortably beneath her. Anger fired through at the rude disruption of her mind made mission, "Look you dumb ass, you can't go tackling people like that, it's rude and dangerous!" She yelled and wiggled out from his grip as it loosened. Turning her eyes to look at the man who had the audacity to do such a thing, she realized her mistake far to late when she looked deep into the eyes of a very recognizable Sharingan. It was only an instant later before her world went dark.

* * *

"What the fuck do you mean she isn't in the hospital?" The blonde snarled at the poor nurse who managed to be the first in his line of sight when he entered the building.

"Um, well, sir, you see-"

"Naruto quit barking at my staff like a common hound."

Naruto whipped around to see Tsunade leaning up against the door jam. If it had been anyone else they may have passed her disposition off as being nonchalant but he could see the tenseness in her shoulder, the way her brow creased a little to deep, how her arms were crossed to hide her clenched fist.

"Where is she?" Naruto asked desperately.

"I'm not sure right this moment, we have numerous shinobi scanning the area for her as we speak."

"Then I will join them!" Naruto declared and marched forward, the current Hokage's powerful hand landed on his shoulder before he could fully remove himself from the room.

"I'm sorry Naruto, until we know exactly what is happening with this specific attack I can't allow you to walk around alone."

"What's the point of being Hokage, or at least the future Hokage if I can't help my people?" Naruto cried desperately as he shook her off but remained obediently still.

"You are helping your people, by remaining safe and unharmed. There is no immediate attack as of yet, have faith in your people Naruto. They won't be able to do their job correctly if they're to worried about keeping you safe as well."

Naruto sighed, defeated. He turned on his heel and slowly walked over to the window. What could this all possibly mean? Ten explosions that did minimal damage in random unpopulated areas. Of course it was a distraction, but for what and from who?

The air in the room changed as an ANBU fazed into the room. His bird like mask cracked along the jawline and slightly chipped apart, his attire torn and a couple cuts marring his frame. His breathing seemed heavier then just a simple jutsu to get here, "Hokage-sama!"

Both the blondes perked up immediately and made their way over to him, "What is it?" Tsunade asked first, her hands already glowing green as her healing chakra covered his wounds.

"The prisoner, Sasuke, he has escaped!" The man coughed for a second and cleared his throat, "We found Ibiki and Anko taken out in the court room, Anko stayed conscious just long enough to tell us what he wants..."

"And what is it? Spit it out!" Naruto said grasping at the front of his jacket.

"He's looking for Sakura-san..." He replied cryptically.

Tsunade glanced up and was only a second to late as the younger blonde disappeared from her view, "Naruto!" She called loudly, her voice echoing in the room around them.

* * *

"So now what? Do we just wait for her to wake up?"

"She needs to hurry up then, because she's putting a burden on My Sasuke."

"You're so pathetic it's not even funny..."

"Shut up Suigetsu, you're just jealous no one thinks your ugly self is cute."

"I wouldn't want someone as disgusting as you drooling on my-"

"Quiet."

Everything fell into silence as Sakura slowly came back to consciousness. She became acutely aware that someone was carrying her on their back, her head resting gently against a strong firm shoulder, her arms tossed carefully around their neck to keep her balance and a pair of strong hands gently holding her legs up as she leaned fully against the other persons body. The body though firm, was warm and radiated strength beneath her, for a second she almost lost herself and sighed in comfort.

The clouds in her mind seemed to disperse as the memory of Sasuke's eyes baring into her being was like ice cold water. It only took another second before she whipped her head up and fluttered her legs and shoved against his back, "Let go!"

She was sure the only reason she was released from his grasp was because she'd taken him by surprise. However instead of the intended shove she'd planned on giving him to knock him off his feet, he firstly dumped her rather ungracefully on the ground beneath them. It didn't take her but a second to leap up from the grass and get straight to her feet standing defensively as she faced the four people in front of her.

"Ah, the princess has awoken!"

Sakura looked immediately at the man who spoke, she recognized him instantly. In fact she recognized them all. Sasuke, Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo. Naruto had obsessed over Sasuke's new team for months after figuring out their identities. She probably knew more about this group of people then they knew about each other.

"What have you done? What do you want with me?" She said glancing towards Sasuke, their leader, and taking a particular interest in his nose, this being her best attempt to keep from looking him in the eye again.

Silence was her only answer, and frustration blossomed immediately. Captain Silence hadn't changed very much apparently.

She looked between the others as they all stared at her with varying degrees of expressions, when her eyes landed on the biggest of them all she noticed her medic pack strapped over one his shoulders. He seemed uncomfortable with the sudden confrontation, he danced slowly back and forth on his feet, she decided that he would be the most likely to tell her the truth.

"Jugo," Sakura offered calmly.

The man glanced up completely surprised that she was addressing him by his first name.

"What do you guys want with me?"

Said man glanced to his left and opened his mouth to say something when the fiery red head beside him held her hand out in front of him, "Don't talk to him," she growled acidly her eyes glaring daggers into Sakura's being, "Your business is with Sasuke," she cooed the name sweetly.

Sakura frowned as if on some invisible cue all three of Sasuke's teammates turned and continued further away, just out of earshot but not out of visibility range should something not happen for their liking.

Sakura didn't take another second to think before she whipped around on her heel and walked with purpose away from the entire group. As she expected Sasuke rudely appeared only two feet in front of her barring her path from anymore steps forward.

"Move," she ordered bravely.

The Uchiha prodigy lifted his eyebrow in an almost amused sort of way, "I think not."

Surprised she crinkled her nose, "Oh so you still have your vocal cords I see. What do you want Sasuke? There is no way you got captured, disrupted the village and escaped all in an attempt to kidnap me... so tell me your true plan."

"Exactly."

Sakura stuttered trying the fathom what exactly she was right about, her mind clicked and she stepped back from him, exactly meant she was right about everything.

"What do you want with me Sasuke..." She whispered suddenly.

"Come with me."

An unknown emotion raced through her heart as she stared at the handsome face in front of her, "For what?"

"I need you."

Her eyebrows shot forward in complete and utter surprise. "I'm sorry, did I just hear The Uchiha Sasuke say he need me? The same guy who knocked me out when I first offered, the same guy who tried to kill me not to long ago, that guy?" She spluttered out incredulously.

Silence was her only answer.

"Well your a couple days to late, I don't want anything to do with you!"

"You're lying." He stated almost as if it was a known fact.

"Excuse me? How dare you!"

"Why stick up for me?"

This time it was Sakura who didn't reply, she simply looked away from the raven haired man in front of her. They both waited for a couple extra minutes of silence before she finally shook her head, "I don't know, maybe I just didn't want to see you die." It was all a lie, and she knew it. She definitely didn't want to see him die, but a small hidden portion deep in her head wanted exactly what Naruto fawned after for years. Their team, his companionship, the old friendship they all shared.

"I'll come back for you if you refuse to come now... but more people will have to get hurt."

Sakura clenched her fists together, how dare he play at her instinctive need to protect the people of the village. She glared viciously at him, only just now noticing that his coal black eyes had returned from their devilish red state. She watched in even more surprise as he held his hand out towards her, giving her one last chance it seemed.

It took everything in Sakura's being not to knock his hand as far away from her as possible, maybe even adding some chakra into it so she could rattle his knuckles around a little bit. However Naruto's smiling face flashed in her mind, what would he do? Would he go with Sasuke? Or would he attempt to bring the man back home but with a little extra force? Even if she could manage to apprehend Sasuke or paralyze him long enough to do that she had three other very alert people watching them very carefully. It simply wasn't possible. So what if she played this off and went with them, gathered some information that she needed.

Here she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, flee or go. In a weird way fight or flight. Her heart was starting to fly at an extremely rapid pace.

"Sakura."

She shot him a look that told him she didn't need to be reminded of his hovering hand. A small decision clicked into her mind as a plan unrolled itself quickly in her mind. She knew what she needed to do. She'd already come to the general conclusion that if she went with Sasuke it would most likely be her inevitable death, if she attempted to escape him he may try to kill her after all; he wasn't exactly a stranger to that habit.

Taking a deep breath, tensing all her muscles and finally making her definite decision. She risked looking Sasuke in the eye before smirking. His brow creased in his own moment of confusion.

Fight or flight, right?


	2. The Greatest Loss

**Author's Note:** These are all one shots! So some of them are not going to make "sense". Most of them are likely going to be random "scenes" that I think I'll never actually put into any of my stories. This is more writing therapy while I prepare myself to revamp and finally finish the stories I've started here at FanFiction. Thank you again for the support and lovely reviews. Request something inside your reviews and I may give it a try! Thanks again everyone! Please again bare with me as I get back into this writing thing, I'm a little rusty! Prepare yourself, this one if I did it correctly might be a tearjerker!

* * *

**The Greatest Loss**

_D. A. Nico_

Thunder rippled across the land like a rolling tsunami of sound that shook her being even further to the core. A streak of lightening that branched off over and over flashed across the sky and lit the world around her up like a festival evening. Except tonight was no festival for her, it had become a funeral. A nightmare.

There she kneeled, defeated in the muddy battlefield that rolled out in front of her. Her body had fallen numb not to long ago but she knew as a medic that she had wounds, scratches and nicks, along with one pesky stab wound to her midsection that slowly drizzled blood like it was an unending fountain for the ground beneath her. It didn't hurt though, her bodies pain was far less then that of her heart, of her psyche.

She took a slow, deep breath and leaned forward so that her hands sunk into the quagmire ground that was already soaking her to the bone. She took fascination as her bloody hands went from a morbid crimson to a neutral brown color, effectively cloaking the reminder right in her face. It was at this point that she could feel the tell tale signs of the storm that had halted only minutes ago start back up again. It was taunting her, she'd just survived that entire ordeal and here she was, about to die of hypothermia because she was to rattled to actually stand up and figure out what to do next. Was it even possible for there to be a next?

A sloppy noise beside her made her jump as the dark haired man off to her left sat up, his back suctioning mud from the ground in an almost comical way. Sakura may have laughed in the past, if the situation had been any different, but it wasn't. She glanced away, her mind not truly moving faster then a slugs pace as her hazy jade eyes traveled across the land and towards a single body a couple meters away.

Uchiha Itachi.

Everything had been going to so suspiciously perfectly. Nothing gold can stay, was the truest thing she could ever think of. After months and months of agonizing pleading and proving, Uchiha Sasuke had finally been reinstated as a great and proud shinobi of Konohagakure. Team seven had also been reinstated with the original three and the random and occasional appearance from Sai and their former sensei when the mission called for it. They'd all worked together along with some grumpy genin to rejuvenate the main part of the Uchiha compound to its original glory. Days went by with general peace between the three, and only a little bit of turmoil for the village as they debated a peace treaty to keep the countries from going into a pointless war.

It was just one night where they were all sitting together by the campfire, returning from an even more pointless mission when at long last Sasuke had spoken up about a subject that both she and Naruto had remained mum about the entire time. His brother.

It was in that night, that Sasuke asked and they both agreed and promised the young Uchiha that they would help with slaying the murderer of his clan. Sakura never had a clue as to what she'd been signing up for when she made that promise. If only she could have foretold the future.

"Sakura."

She felt herself jolt as the reality of her name spoken so clearly broke the cloudy haze that had been fogging up her mind. She reached up, careless about the mud that still clung to her hand and pushed her long pink hair away from her face. She flinched the moment her hand came in contact with an apparent gash that rested near her temple, almost as if on autopilot she attempted to send some medical chakra to patch up the wound but was reminded that she'd depleted herself a while ago. On something far more important.

A firm but gentle hand grasped her shoulder, "You're hurt."

Sakura couldn't help the random dry huff of laughter that shot from her lips. It was such a bluntly obvious statement. She knew that this was Sasuke's way of worrying for her, at least if he pointed it out it meant he'd noticed it, which meant he cared enough for you to know as well. Just in case you couldn't feel the problem yourself. At which point Sakura realized that whatever numbness had originally been in her body had fizzled away, her abdomen really was starting to hurt. She needed her adrenaline back.

Of course, without permission Sasuke took it upon himself to lift her to her feet. She could feel the moment of resistance, as if she'd sunk so far into the wet ground that it had accepted her as dead herself. When she didn't actually make any real response to him moving her he shook her as if to remove her from whatever stupor she may have been in.

A moment of true rage flared to life in the back of mind.

Whipping around before she could truly think about what she was doing, her open palm sans chakra, all emotion, connected harshly against Sasuke's cheek.

"This is all your fault!" She screamed rather pathetically at him, she was sure her voice cracked in the middle of her accusation.

The echo of her slap seemed to roll around in the air far longer then it actually did as the wind picked up and died down. Sasuke's face which had been turned away as he took the force of her strike slowly looked back, his face was blank; not a spot of hatred. He understood.

"Saku-"

"Don't! Don't you dare say my name like you're not in the least bit ruined by this!" She quickly went to wrench her arm out his grasp, "It's your selfish fault. We would have never been on this stupid mission if you hadn't been so damn set on killing Itachi!"

Sasuke remained politely silent as she vented against the man.

"If it wasn't for you Naruto would still be alive!"

This time she made sure she was able to wrench her arm free of his grasp as she whirled around and sprinted across the ground. She knew she was uncoordinated and sloppy in her running. The ground was mucky and uneven, she was wounded and tired, an emotional wreck; but she wasn't going far.

She wasn't sure if it was for some unknown dramatic effect or that her body simply gave out at the perfect time but she slid to the ground in front of the lifeless body of Uzumaki Naruto. At some point between the screaming and running tears had finally formed in her eyes and were falling at an uncontrollable rate. Without much thinking she threw her body across the chest of her proverbial brother, the cliche sprinkling of rain making this scenario in her head all the more devastating.

It was in that moment that she released any of the last bit of pent up numbness. She wailed loudly into his stained jonin vest as she grasped at whatever was available for her to cling to.

"Please Naruto, please come back. I can't lose you... I just... can't." It was at this point that she truly felt how cold the blonde's body had grown, the lack of blood circulation zapping the color from his boyish cheeks; cheeks she would never see smile at her ever again. If a heart could truly break she was positive that hers was shattering.

Her loud sobs slowly quieted down to stuttering breaths and she lay there, "How am I supposed to tell everyone? What should I say to Hinata?" The idea of telling Naruto's long time girlfriend and her dear friend that he had passed was almost to much to bare. She hadn't been expecting an answer but the silence that reigned over them right now was to surreal. It was never quiet when Naruto was around. At least when Naruto was alive.

The same very familiar hand grasped Sakura's shoulders and yanked her quickly to her feet, "We can't stay here." It was after all dangerous.

Sakura however didn't even seem to fathom that he was thinking rationally. She slammed her petite but scarred fist against his chest. "It's your fault!" She repeated again, she wanted him to understand, his stony silence was starting to piss her off. He deserved to grieve... but she knew this was Sasuke grieving.

"I hate you! I will always hate you for this!" She snarled at him, her eyes taking in the way his hair was matted down with dirt and blood and whatever foreign debris had been entangled in its thickness. His face had not gone unharmed from the battle, he was sporting a bruise on his right eye that Sakura had no intention of healing, she hoped it swelled to the size of an orange. But she really didn't.

"Say something!" She yelled, begged.

"I know," was his quiet response and in that second she saw an emotion flicker in his dark eyes that she had never seen on his face before. Sadness, true sadness.

She hadn't even prepared herself as his arms gently snaked themselves around her waisted and back, slowly as if worried she'd reject him. And there in his incredibly strong arms she felt protected, like at some point in the future she actually could move forward from this turmoil. Her arms were folded up helplessly between their chests and she wiggled them free long enough to wrap them around his strong frame. She could feel the muscles quivering as she wrapped her hands around the backs of his shoulder, could hear his heart beating from his chest as she laid her head against his chest.

It took her a long moment to mentally compute what was happening, but Sasuke's moment had come and here he stood, holding onto the last thing precious to him as he silently cried for the best friend he'd foolishly lost.

Sakura didn't say a word, didn't move, even though she was an emotional and physical wreck it was at this point that she knew Sasuke needed the next couple of moments to purge himself and then gather it back up because his pride would never allow for this to happen again. She knew it was a one time thing, and it would be burned into her mind forever.

Seconds ticked by and very slowly he pulled back, she unwillingly loosened her grip and took in a slow gulp of air as she eyed him down. Of course Uchiha Sasuke would be a graceful crier, no leaky nose, no red rimmed eyes, not a trace of the emotional break down that just happened. In an even rarer moment of affection Sasuke slowly reached up and pushed a piece of her frazzled hair back and behind her ear. The touch didn't stop there though, he ran his fingers along her jawline and she could feel her eyes trail downward in an almost shy sort of manner.

Upon his hands insistence she looked back up, "I'm sorry."

Those two words were painful, even more painful then the wounds on her body.

"His body should be returned to Konoha... but I don't know how."

Sasuke frowned for a moment before placing his hands together and she could feel a rush of chakra and a poofing noise beside her caught her completely by surprise. In a natural response she stepped away as a white snake with pink eyes slithered from the summoning and loyally looked towards Sasuke.

"Keep his body safe and return it home."

The snake didn't even stutter as she turned towards Naruto and circled around him and paused in whatever she was doing before taking another glance at her summoner, as if waiting.

Sasuke seemed to understand something Sakura didn't because he turned towards her and then took a step away and glanced back. She understood now, it was time to go.

Sakura glanced back at her fallen friend, she quickly kneeled back down and kissed him atop his forehead, "Goodbye Naruto, I love you." She brushed her hand through his thick blonde hair and stood to follow Sasuke. She didn't want to stick around, because while the snake seemed gentle and respectable she had a feeling she knew how a limbless snake would transport her friend.

"We need to rest, I need to heal you." Sakura mentioned, her inner medic flaring to life, assessing his wounds. Anything to keep her mind away from her loss.

Sasuke nodded simply, "Shelter first."

* * *

Sasuke turned his charcoal eyes down to Sakura's sleeping form, her head resting comfortably in his lap as the flames from their small fire kept the small cave they'd found warm and cozy. The storm outside, though not harsh would not have been a pleasant thing to stay in especially due to their lack of equipment or cover.

They'd managed to find this sheltered spot by pure luck, exhaustion had been crawling over both of them and Sakura had grown quiet, and though she was mourning he knew her silence was from her concentration. She was hurting, a fool would be blind not to see that. A small trickle of guilt formed on his conscious, he knew he should have protected her better. This would have never been a problem if he'd not allowed his mind to be so clouded by hatred. All of this could have been avoided.

His brow wrinkled in frustration as he shook his head, obsessing would never bring Naruto back or heal Sakura's wounds. At that thought he reached over and lifted them hem of her shirt just enough to check on the most mortal of all her wounds.

By the time they'd settled down and he'd started the fire somehow Sakura had managed to conjure up enough medical chakra to heal his direst of injuries, and sustain her worst. Even with his refusal he knew she was far to stubborn not to heal him first. It was give in or put up a fight and likely lose anyways. So completely and utterly annoying, as usual.

Her abdomen though was whelped and rather ugly in comparison to his patch job would be fine for the night. She staunched the bleeding and patched up any of the major surrounding damage. The output and depletion of her chakra had exhausted her so far and fast that Sasuke hadn't managed to say much before she'd simply laid down and gone straight to sleep without a word. He hadn't moved a muscle since, to worried about disturbing the woman before him.

He wasn't sure what was compelling him at this point but he respectively pulled the hem of her shirt back down after being satisfied she was alright and moved his hand to rest comfortably on her shoulder, almost instantly she sighed comfortably and seemed to sink further into his lap as if she hadn't been fully relaxed even in her sleep.

A frown marred his features, he wished there was a jutsu to help her forget and to help her heal, and he didn't mean physically either. He knew that her body would heal long before her heart. Sakura loved fiercely and loyally. After spending the amount of time back in the village and with his team he'd observed her very carefully. She didn't trust easily, he could see it in the way that she held herself when meeting new people or confronted by faces she recognized but didn't deem true friends. No, she was never rude, always sickeningly polite; but she didn't relax and open up to the way she had with him and Naruto. The way he knew she did with Ino or Hinata. He may even have himself to blame for that, he seemed to be pretty good at hurting her; at breaking her heart.

They were only a half days travel from their home, but Sasuke had a feeling he knew it would feel much longer. He knew that the snake he had summoned would keep Naruto's deceased body safe, but he also knew the snake would not hand deliver the body to anyone without him. They would have to break Naruto's death to the Hokage and decide how to go about telling everyone else. The most important of his peers he figured Sakura would tell, she was better with words then he was anyways. The rest of society he did not worry about, they could figure it out one way or another.

He let his head fall uncomfortably back against the stone wall that his back rested against as he stared up at the cavern ceiling. Loss was not an unfamiliar thing to Sasuke, but this close of a loss he hadn't experienced since the death of his parents. Watching Naruto get struck down had possibly been the first heart stopping moment he'd had in a long time. He was sure that Sakura's screams would forever haunt his nightmares.

Grudgingly he would admit to himself that Itachi's death was not worth Naruto's life, that he had been completely wrong. In all bouts of destiny he figured this was karma laying it on really thick. All the people he'd wronged in his life, along with all the terrible sins he done had all managed to pile up and explode in one traumatic catastrophe. He'd forever be thankful that this scenario hadn't taken Sakura from him as well.

To lose them both, it wasn't something he could even fathom.

Sakura in a sense had become his rock. She grounded him now a lot more then she had ever done before. Of course in their younger years she'd been there, but more in a lovesick puppy sort of way. She followed him with such a large amount of loyalty back then it had scared him and annoyed him. Now, she'd grown out of that strange stage in her life, she'd toned back the fawning. He was positive the Sakura in some sort of way still held feelings for him, in the way she showed it and talked to him, in the way that she made him feel warm and content. He would be lying if he said in the past couple months he hadn't started feeling closer to his pink haired teammate as well.

He glanced down once more to see her peacefully slumber beneath his hand, she looked content for now, happy. He knew that this moment in her sleep would only last until she awoke again but for now he relished her calmness, because it calmed him as well. He knew that they would get through this together, she was all he had left.

Closing his eyes, he stretched his shoulders out and prepared to fall into a light slumber. He was drained in every sense of the word and knew he would need to be prepared for the true realization that tomorrow was a brand new day and Naruto wouldn't be there, ever again. He frowned to himself and drifted slowly off to sleep.

* * *

Sakura looked up from her walking feet and spied the walls of Konoha in the far distance, the front gates would come into view soon enough and she was sure all hell would break lose after that point in time. It had been no secret that team seven had left on a mission to hunt down the Akatsuki member himself so the notable absence of the loud mouthed blonde couldn't be hidden for to long, it may do them best to faze straight into Tsunade's office unannounced.

The trip back had thankfully been uneventful, a straight shot. The day had been disgustingly beautiful. In light of the events and weather yesterday, the day sat a comfortable temperature, the sun shined, the breeze blowed and small forest animals were heard hidden by the trees. Any other day Sakura would have loved a day like this, it would have lifted her spirits. Today however it did nothing but remind her how sour and put off her mood was.

Other then some early morning chat she and Sasuke had remained completely silent in their trip home, she hadn't expected much chatter from Sasuke anyways, he wasn't exactly a vocalist. And in this moment she was thankful for that, the silence was helping her keep from falling apart again.

Sakura's pace halted and it took Sasuke two extra steps before he seemed to even note she wasn't moving anymore, a small sign to Sakura that he was being effected as well. He turned to look at her, a questioning look crossing his face as if willing her to explain what was wrong. She'd learned to speak the language of silent Sasuke a long time ago.

"I'm afraid to go back there, we have to tell everyone that he's dead. That is our fault." She murmured staring at her toes.

"My fault," she heard him correct her.

She shook her head, "No Sasuke, we were both there, our fault."

She could tell when she looked back up how much her sentence was bothering him. She knew he would just deal with it for now, between the two of them Sasuke didn't like to bicker with Sakura that had always been something he seemed to save for Naruto. Like a pair of squabbling brothers, the fights were never important and never lasted longer then maybe an hour but she could see it had always been amusing for both parties.

"They won't hate us, we are shinobi after all. Death is apart of our job... but Naruto..." Sasuke took a step back towards her. She sighed, "Don't leave me ok?" She calmly begged.

She watched his brow furrow together just barely. She knew he was thinking in that beautiful head of his. In a sense, and it may have been selfish but Sasuke was her strongest connection she had to Naruto. As a team, a group of friends and family the three of them had shared more together and with each other then anyone else in their lives. Aside from that she also wanted the comfort, they had experienced this together and she knew it would only be him that could aid her through the healing process. He was the only other person that watched Naruto take his last breath.

The feeling of his hand sliding into hers made her jump to attention, she glanced up and saw the silent promise in his eyes. And for the first time since yesterday she gave Sasuke a very small and very grateful smile. Then they took their first couple of steps hand in hand back towards the village. She gently squeezed his and felt a rush of warmth through her system as he just barely returned the gesture back to her. Sakura felt for the first time that it was possible for them to make it through this, so long as it was them doing it together.


End file.
